{"nrhp_refnum":"88000031","name":"Black and White Farm Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7420 Dansville--Mt. Morris Rd., NY 36","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sonyea","county":"Livingston County","state":"NY","lat":42.66610564900003,"lon":-77.80802530199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-02-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A very large two-story wood-frame barn built in 1884 on a 600-acre farm near Sonyea, Livingston County, New York, on the west side of Route 36. The nominated property is eight acres covering the barn and its barnyard.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the barn is architecturally and historically significant as an unusually large example of a nineteenth-century agricultural building with innovative features. These include a U-shaped hay wagon alley, a protected inner yard, continuous louvred roof monitors and light-member framing. It is one of New York's largest nineteenth-century barns and reflects progressive agriculture and the profitability of farming in the Genesee Valley.","narrative":"Built in 1884 for Joseph Cone, an absentee farmer and Geneseo merchant, this enormous wood-frame barn sits on a hillside near Sonyea overlooking the Groveland Flats. It measures about 160 feet across the front and 200 feet deep, with four sides enclosing an open central yard sheltered from winter winds. Inside, a continuous 15-foot-wide wagon alley loops through the hayloft so wagons can turn without reversing, and trusses at the corners replace columns that would block the turns. Louvred roof monitors and cupolas ventilate the hay, while light post-and-beam framing saved material. Decoration is modest, limited to diagonally planked doors and saw-tooth gable sheathing. The farm later became known as the Black and White Farm after the Ross family, who bought it in 1918 and stocked it with black and white animals. The barn is valued for its scale, its experimental design tied to progressive agriculture, and its continued use as a dairy barn.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Joseph Cone","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Retains a high degree of integrity and remains in use on an active dairy farm; condition marked fair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.969989-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/88000031.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000031/e580baa90d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000031/e580baa90d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_and_White_Farm_Barn_Oct_09.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_and_White_Farm_Barn_Oct_09.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318616","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_White_Farm_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4922235"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/livingston-county/black-and-white-farm-barn-88000031/"}